MINI Countryman C Exclusive long-term test: stylish, practical and great to drive

Verdict

The petrol-powered MINI Countryman has shown just how far the brand has come in the past 13 years. It’s a far more rounded, practical creation than the Countryman was when we first encountered it. Now it’s time to see if the car still delivers such a convincing experience with batteries and an electric motor installed.

• Mileage: 5,080 miles
• Economy: 35mpg

It's funny how things go around, because this is not the first time that I’ve run a MINI Countryman long-term test car. Back in 2011, I had a diesel Countryman ALL4 for a nine-month loan and I struggled to give the keys back. I remember that it was refreshing to be able to drive the MINI brand, but in a more usable ‘family focused’ vehicle with my children.

Fast forward 13 years and it’s now my eldest son’s children that populate our Countryman test car on weekends away. A lot has changed in that time, mind you. Child car seats, buggies and, frankly, all of us have grown in size.

Thankfully, this hasn’t presented the new Countryman with too many issues. It has 450 litres of boot space, so we’ve been able to throw pretty much everything at the load bay, while the area beneath the floor has been used recently to store a fold-out sun tent and picnic blanket – handy for days out with the grandchildren – and there’s still room for the folded cargo net and the kits for first aid and tyre repairs.

Because the Countryman has a flat rear tailgate, we haven’t encountered any problems fitting in heavier, boxier items, either; and the near-vertical rear window means that the car has even been able to accommodate the flight cases that contain my son’s heavy musical equipment.

The rear passenger space is as comfortable as the front, thanks to excellent headroom along with air-con controls and USB-C charging points. The panoramic sunroof on our C Exclusive edition lets the summer light flood in, too. Granted, the bulky child seats can occasionally be a challenge, but I’ve found that if my move my grandson’s seat onto the front ISOFIX points, that frees up enough space in the second row for two adults to travel alongside my granddaughter’s larger fixed-base car seat.

Initially, I had reservations about the MINI’s admittedly quite lovely textured interior finish, and its ability to withstand children’s sticky fingers. But my fears have proven unfounded, because lollies and fruit residue have just washed away with no serious marks left. The Vescin dark-petrol faux leather looks as wonderful as it is comfortable – although I’ve found that it can get very hot if you forget to close the sunroof blind.

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MINI’s styling has evolved a great deal in 13 years, and especially over the past 12 months. The latest wave has a totally overhauled cabin, and although I’d still prefer a few more physical buttons, I’ve learned my way around the complex (and technically advanced) circular OLED display in the centre of the dash. I now know what I need to press and where to find it.

The rest of the front cabin works ergonomically, too; the sliding centre armrest offers good support and my long legs don’t knock against anything uncomfortable, despite decent-sized door bins for drinks and child-targeted snacks. The wireless phone charger is in a great position and there’s even space for two pairs of driving glasses.

So you can see why the Countryman has been a fantastic companion on our summer trips out and about. Even when the traffic has ground to a halt, I’ve thrown myself at the mercy of the built-in navigation and found that its live updates are genuinely useful, steering me around hot spots and roadworks. The augmented-reality display on the screen has proved too distracting, though, so I’ve just turned it off.

It may still have petrol power but there’s not really too much to tie this Countryman’s driving experience to the point-and squirt character that made the original MINI such a smash hit. It’s been fine, I suppose, but I’d like the automatic gearbox to be a bit more snappy, particularly when pulling out of junctions. And the car’s computer claims it’s achieving just under 35mpg, which is probably respectable for a petrol car that’s doing a lot of miles in suburban south London, but hardly stellar.

So, once again, I’m about to hand back the keys to a Countryman – and this time after a very brief three months with it. But to soften the blow, I’m swapping it for a fully electric example that I’ll run until late autumn. I’m already familiar with so much of the package and in-car tech that I should be able to boil down, quite quickly, the differences (both good and not so good) between ICE and EV power.

MINI Countryman C Exclusive: first report

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The new MINI Countryman’s phone app eases setting up infotainment 

• Mileage: 4,366 miles
• Economy: 34.8mpg

Our MINI Countryman arrived back in May and instantly blew me away with its simplified design and jump in quality. First impressions are key, and the welcoming wink from the headlights as the car unlocks, along with the crystal-clear parking light proudly displaying the simple MINI logo, set the tone.

Once inside, the stripped-back cabin oozes class, too, with textured materials that I just want to touch. Perhaps that’s because there is so little else to play with beyond the massive circular infotainment screen. Even my four-year-old grandson has mentioned the unusually tactile interior design, and likes to touch the two-tone door fade (but that might cause some issues with his sticky fingers further down the line).

I also love the beautiful brushed-metal vent controls, door handles and the A-pillar speakers for the Harman Kardon audio system. That rather splendid sound set-up comes as part of the Level 3 option pack, which adds a selection of extra equipment. Some bits are visible, such as the panoramic sunroof and a head-up display that stands proud on the spartan dashboard. Others, for example the active driver’s massaging seat, driver’s assistant Pro safety tech and the larger 54-litre fuel tank, are less obvious.

My last long-term test vehicle was last year’s Auto Express Car of the Year, the Hyundai Kona. That cost around £3,000 more than our 1.5-litre Petrol Countryman, but the difference in cabin quality is huge, since the MINI is far closer to the £74,000 Lexus RZ that I drove before that. The Countryman feels every bit a premium SUV, like climbing behind the wheel of a mini Range Rover. So it was little surprise that it scooped the Premium Small SUV of the year at our 2024 New Car Awards the other week.

I know all things are relative, but I have to say that the Countryman doesn’t actually feel that small, with plenty of space for my tall family, two child seats and luggage. 

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Behind the wheel, the Countryman has been fine. Days out have been fun and effortless. The automatic gearbox can stutter a little toward roundabouts and on occasion when pulling away from junctions, and the car feels like it ought to have a manual transmission, but that’s no longer an option. The tiny switch to go forwards or backwards is little joy compared with a gearstick, but otherwise it’s all straightforward. 

My only worry has been the huge round infotainment display. I’m a bit old school and not a massive fan of smartphones or touchscreens in cars, so the sight of a circular iPad-style tablet in the centre of the dash was daunting, to say the least. I’m aware that it’s a personal thing, though. While my grown-up children think it’s great and the grandchildren love it, none of them is having to actually drive about while attempting to access sub-menus.

So I headed over to MINI HQ in Farnborough, Hants, to meet with product manager Chris Fryer and get some inside information on how to get the most out of the infotainment with minimum effort. It turns out that the key to success is quite simple and involves setting up a driver profile using the MINI smartphone app. 

Once you’ve done that, the app can sync to the car with a QR code. Then it’s just a case of setting up personal preferences through the sub-menus that the car will recognise whenever you enter and apply. These choices can be anything from the infotainment settings to the seating position and head-up display angle, so it’s ideal for different-sized drivers with their own MINI profiles. 

Chris told me: “It’s a little bit more work when you first begin, but once set up, it makes your life super-easy.” That’s especially true when on the move. He explained that the layout of the screen mirrors that of a smartphone, with elements that stay in the same place regardless of the sub-menus. This helps aid navigation, so you are never more than a press from the home screen.

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I’ve become far more familiar with the set-up with time and have taken Chris’s advice on holding the edge of the circle with my fingers to steady my hand while pushing the actual screen with my thumb. This prevents wobbly fingers from hitting the wrong part of the display while driving. 

Personally, I don’t like the augmented-reality video that appears over the sat-nav screen when approaching a junction. It takes my eyes away from the road towards the centre of the car, which I’m uneasy with. Chris mentioned that it’s excellent for night driving when following an unfamiliar route and I don’t dispute that, but with clear directions on both the head- up display and navigation screen (when switched off), I feel far more relaxed.

Chris also pointed out MINI Connect, which brings real-time traffic info and the ability to record 360-degree dash-camera footage. It can also hook up entertainment, and while gaming isn’t really my thing, music certainly is. So the option to stream Spotify directly from the car and have hi-res album artwork, with matching interior colours, does appeal. 

Two months into driving the MINI Countryman, I find I’m looking forward to weekend days out or any reason to jump behind the wheel. I’m sure that I mentally mirror the voice that exclaims ‘Whoo-hoo’ when you switch to Go Kart (Sport) mode, as I jump in and drive off. It’s fun!

Features of the well rounded infotainment

*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.